Toy musical instrument with jumping objects on keys



April 16, 1952' A. A. ANTHONY TOY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT WITH JUMPING OBJECTS C'N KEYS Filed Sept. 9, 1953 INVENTOR. \WQXBN BY mma( K United States Patent- O TOY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT WITH JUMPING OBJECTS ON KEYS Alfred A. Anthony, Westport, Conn. Application September 9, 1953, Serial No. 379,153 8 Claims. (Cl. 84-404) This invention relates to toy xylophones, and more particularly to a Xylophone in which there are separate hammers for striking each of the plates, and separate keys for operating the respective hammers. It is an object of the invention to provide an improved toy Xylophone which can be played by young children without experience, and which has movable objects associated with the different notes and actuated by the same key that causes the note to be sounded.

In the preferred construction of the invention, there is a differently colored ball located on the housing and preferably within a transparent container, for actuation by the key which sounds each of the respective notes of the Xylophone. One feature of the invention relates to the containers in which the balls move and to a relation of the containers by which they are progressively longer, like the pipes of an organ; the longer or higher containers being associated with the lower notes of the Xylophone.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a toy Xylophone constructed in accordance with this invention;

. Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view Figure 2.

The Xylophone includes a housing which is preferably a one piece, plastic molding having a top wall 11 in which there are a plurality of openings 12 covered by transparent containers 14. These containers 14 are preferably molded as one piece with the housing 10, and successive containers 14 are of progressively greater height, but substantially equal diameter. In order to have the containers 14 transparent and of one-piece construction with the housing 10, the housing 10 is molded of transparent material; but the housing 10 is then painted on its inside surface so that it is bright, shiny and opaque. There is a long slot 18 in the top wall 11, in front of the containers 14. This slot 18 provides access to keys 20 which are depressed to operate the Xylophone. There are preferably eight keys 20 so that the Xylophone can be used to play a full octave.

Figure 2 shows the internal construction of the Xylophone. There is a bottom wall 24 connected to the lower edge of the housing 10 to enclose a chamber within the housing 10 for the operating parts of the Xylophone. The bottom wall 24 is preferably a plastic molding made with longitudinally extending ridges 26 and 27, and with a longitudinally extending frame 28. The ridges 26 and 27, and the frame 28 are preferably molded as one piece with the bottom wall 24.

There are notches 30 in the top surface of the ridge 27 for receiving levers 32. A hammer 34 is attached to taken on the line 3-3 of the rearward end of each of the levers 32. Each lever 32 extends through an opening 35 in the frame 28.

The front wall of the housing 10, indicated by the reference character 38, prevents the lever 32 from moving forward, and the lever is held against rearward movement by the ridge 26 which is located behind the hammer 34. The bottom of the notch 30, on which the lever 32 rests, serves as a fulcrum for the lever when the forward end of the lever is pressed downwardly by the key 20. The lever 32 is restrained against transverse movement by the side walls of the opening 35, in the frame 28, best shown in Figure 3. The forward end of the lever 32 is held against transverse movement by a notch 40 (Figure 1) in the lower edge of the key 20.

Each of the keys 20 is supported on the top of the frame 28. There are notches 44 in the top edge of the frame 28 for receiving the keys 20 and each of the keys has recesses in its opposite sides into which the sides of the notches 44 engage so that the notches 44 hold the keys 20 against both longitudinal and transverse movement beyond a very limited extent. The ends of the notches 44 leave enough play for the keys 20 to rock freely on the top surface of the frame 28 as a fulcrum.

The Xylophone has plates 50 which rest on soft Washers, preferably felt washers 51, located on top of the ridges 26 and 27. Pins 54 extend through openings in the plates 50 and into the ridges 26 and 27, to hold the Xylophone plates 50 against lengthwise and sidewise displacement.

The xylophone plates 50 extend through the openings 35 in the frame 28, and the upper ends of these openings 35 are made wider than the lower ends in order to accommodate the width of the plates 50. In the assembled construction, as shown in Figure 2, the Xylophone plates 50 are located far enough above the hammers 55 to permit the hammer to acquire a reasonable momentum before striking the plates. Whenever one of the keys 20 is depressed, it pushes the forward end of its lever 32 downwardly and rocks the lever 32 on the fulcrum support provided by the ridge 27. This movement of the lever 32 raises the hammer 34 into contact with the Xylophone plate 50 above it.

The rearward end of each key 20 extends under one of the containers 14, and there is a ball 58 supported by this rearward portion of the key. When the key 20 is depressed with a sharp blow, the ball 58 jumps upwardly in the container 14 while the Xylophone plate sounds a note in response to the depression of the key.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described but changes and modifications can be made without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A musical toy including a housing having a top wall with a row of openings and a transparent guide extending upwardly from each of the openings, a keyboard having a plurality of keys with a different key extending under each of the openings, a separate object resting on each of the keys and extending upward through the opening, the object being free of the key for projection upwardly in the transparent guide when the key is operated, a Xylophone in the housing with the different plates of the Xylophone under the different keys of the keyboard, and a hammer for each plate operated by one of the keys.

2. A toy musical instrument including a housing having a top wall with a row of openings in the top Wall and a transparent guide extending upwardly around each of the openings, the successive guides extending for progressively greater heights above the top wall of the housing, a keyboard including a plurality of keys with a different key extending under each of the openings in the top wall, supports for the keys between the openings and the front of the keyboard so that depression of the front portions of the keys causes the rearward ends of the keys to move upwardly toward the openings, objects located above the keys and resting on the keys, each of the objects being large enough to extend upwardly into the opening at the bottom of its associated transparent guide when the back of the key is in its down position, the objects being separate from the keys for projection upwardly into the transparent guides by sudden movement of the keys, a Xylophone enclosed within the housing with a different plate of the Xylophone under each key, a hammer under each Xylophone plate including an operating lever which extends forwardly across a fulcrum support to a position under the key for sounding the note of that plate of the Xylophone.

3. A toy musical instrument including a one-piece housing constructed of transparent material and having a top wall with a row of openings from which containers, consisting of tubular elements, extend upwardly above the top wall, the tubular elements being of one-piece construction with the remainder of the housing, an opaque coating on the underside of the top wall and the other surfaces of the housing below the level of the top wall, a keyboard having a different key extending under each of the openings, a free object located in each of the tubular elements and supported by the key which extends under 1 the opening of that tubular element, a Xylophone within the housing, and hammers associated with the Xylophone and operated by the keys to play the Xylophone.

4. A toy musical instrument including a housing having a top wall with a row of openings therein, a free and vertically movable object located in each of the openings,

the sides of the opening serving as a guide for the object during at least a portion of the vertical movement of the object, a keyboard including different keys which extend rearwardly under each of the openings in position to support the free objects while the upper portion of the object is in the opening so that the objects are projected upwardly from the openings when the keys move with sudden movement, other guide surfaces for each of the objects above the openings in the top wall of the housing, a Xylophone enclosed within the housing, a hammer for each plate of the Xylophone, each hammer having a portion extending into position to be operated by a different key of the keyboard.

5. A toy musical instrument including'a housing having a top wall with a row of openings therein, a free object located at each of the openings for projection upwardly from the opening, the sides of the opening providing guide surfaces for the object during at least the first part of the upward movement of the object, a keyboard including a plurality of keys, one of which extends under each of the openings, supports for the keys located between the openings and the forward ends of the keys so that depressionof the forward end of each key causes the portion of the key under the opening to move upwardly to move the object above the key upwardly, other guide surfaces for each of the objects above the openingsin the top wall of the housing, a Xylophone enclosed within the housing and having different plates for different notes, and a different hammer in position for striking the respective plates, each hammer having a portion extending into position to be operated by one of the keys of the keyboard.

6. A toy musical instrument including a housing having a top wall with a row of openings therein, a free object located at each of the openings in position to be projected upwardly, a keyboard with different keys extending under the different openings for thrusting the free objects upwardly when the key moves with sudden motion, a skirt extending downwardly at the forward end of each key, a Xylophone enclosed within the housing and having a different plate under each key, a hammer under each plate including a lever which extends forwardly across a support and under'one of the keys, surfaces in the housing for holding the hammer and lever against longitudinal displacement, and other surfaces for holding the forward end of the lever against transverse displacement, said other surfaces comprising the sides of an opening in the skirt and through which the forward end of the ever extends.

7. A toy musical instrument including a housing having a top wall with a row of openings therein, a separate transparent guide at each opening connected to the top wall and extending upwardly therefrom, a plurality of free objects for projection upwardly from the top wall and along said guides, there being at least one such object at each opening through the top wall, a keyboard having different keys movable from raised to lowered position to operate the musical instrument, said key extending under the different openings in position to support the free objects for all positions of the keys and to thrust each object upwardly when the front end of the supporting key moves downwardly with sudden motion, a Xylophone enclosed within the housing, the Xylophone having a plurality of plates, back supports under the rearward end of each plate and front supports under the forward end of each plate, a hammer under each plate including an oper ating lever that extends forwardly across a depressed surface of the front support which serves as a fulcrum for the lever and on which the lever rocks to bring the hammer into contact with the associated plate of the Xylophone. V

8. The toy musical instrument described in claim 7 characterized by the location of the rearward end of. each hammer immediately ahead of the back support of the Xylophone plates so that the hammer is held against rearward displacement by said back support.

References Cited in the file of this patent Switzerland Dec. 17 1934 

